60 flood insurance claims·$549,037 paid·1 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Franklin County, Illinois. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Franklin County experiences a flood risk dominated by riverine floods, with 86 standard flood events recorded over the last 30 years compared to 39 flash flood events. Recent weather patterns illustrate this activity, including heavy rainfall producing rising water levels along the Big Muddy River and brief minor flooding at Plumfield in February 2025. Additionally, slow-moving storm systems produced torrential rainfall rates along the I-64 corridor in July 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that properties across multiple zones experience financial impacts. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 24 claims with an average payout of $4,133 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone A recorded 23 claims with an average payout of $17,114 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone X recorded 9 claims averaging $20,959 with an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone X_SHADED recorded 2 claims averaging $17,788 with an average water depth of 4 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 2 claims averaging $1,411 with an average water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within designated Special Flood Hazard Areas such as Zone A, as well as properties with unmapped or unknown flood status where average claim payouts and water depths indicate measurable risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
15% of Franklin County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
27 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 3 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2008, with 11 claims and $163,457 paid.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
49 NOAA storm reports from Franklin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
10 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 19, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | May 8, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Record/near Record Snow | Dec 21, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Apr 21, 2002 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 28, 1996 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jun 6, 1983 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Apr 26, 1973 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
125 since 1996: 39 flash floods and 86 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Feb 18, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 17, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 8, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 25, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 24, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 19, 2025. As high pressure slowly crept northward towards the Quad State region, ridging remained over the middle Mississippi River Valley. A slow-moving MCS moved through the northeastern half of the Quad State midday to near sunset. CAPE rose to 1000-2000J/kg in northern portions of Southern Illinois with effective bulk shear around 30kts. Extremely high moisture content with precipitable water values of 2.25in resulted i…
Flood · Feb 18, 2025. Heavy rainfall (2-2.5) on February 15th resulted in rising water levels along the Big Muddy River with brief minor flooding at Plumfield.
Flood · Jul 17, 2025. A surface cold front stalled out as it moved towards the northern edge of the Quad State on the 17th. Showers and thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours, tracking eastward, including a broken line of storms moving through the Evansville Tri-State area mid-afternoon. An outflow boundary from a decayed MCS to the north helped initiate some of the storm development. MLCAPE was a very strong 4000J/kg but b…
Flash Flood · Sep 23, 2024. A SW to NE oriented heavy rainfall band crossed Southern Illinois during the late evening hours of the 23rd. A second band formed ahead of the first, and then merged together resulting in a localized higher rainfall total swath of 3-5 inches from Southeast Jackson County through Northwest Williamson County into Southern Franklin County. The highest observed rainfall total was a CoCoRaHS site 2 miles ESE of Bush, I…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Franklin County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.